Colorado Buffaloes running back Travon McMillian #34 scores a touchdown against Colorado State Rams safety Jamal Hicks #7 and Colorado State Rams cornerback Anthony Hawkins #14 in the third quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State Rams running back Izzy Matthews #24 gets stuffed by Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Rick Gamboa #32 in the second quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Steven Montez (12) side-steps in front of Colorado State Rams cornerback Rashad Ajayi (4) on his way to the end zone for a touchdown in the first quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State Rams quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels #1 throws against the Colorado Buffaloes in the second quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Cam the Ram and its handlers run in the end zone after Colorado State Rams wide receiver Olabisi Johnson #81 scored a touchdown in the first quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State Rams wide receiver Olabisi Johnson #81 gets mobbed in celebration by teammate Colorado State Rams running back Izzy Matthews #24 after Olabisi caught a pass for a touchdown against the Colorado Buffaloes in the first quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Steven Montez (12) heads to the end zone on a keeper for touchdown against Colorado State Rams cornerback Rashad Ajayi (4) in the first quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Colorado Buffaloes head coach Mike MacIntyre talks to his team during the Rocky Mountain Showdown against the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High August 31, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo, left, on the sidelines against the Colorado Buffaloes in the first quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver K.D. Nixon #3 makes a catch for a touchdown against Colorado State Rams cornerback V.J. Banks #19 in first the quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. #2 all alone on a touchdown against the Colorado State Rams and CSU cornerback V.J. Banks #19 in the third quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. #2 blows past Colorado State Rams safety Jordan Fogal #11, right, and scampers for a long run for a touchdown in the third quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Ralphie the Buffalo and its handlers take the field during pre-game before the Colorado Buffaloes took on the Colorado State Rams for the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State students tailgating before the the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring CU and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Artist Chris Carlson puts the finishing touches on a sidewalk chalk drawing before the Rocky Mountain Showdown between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Former CU Buff and current Denver Bronco Phillip Lindsay acknowledges his fans before The Buffs took on the Colorado State Rams for the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado Buffaloes cheerleaders perform in the second quarter during the Rocky Mountain Showdown against the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Colorado State students tailgating before the the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring CU and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Colorado State students tailgating before the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring the University of Colorado Buffaloes and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High Aug. 31, 2018.

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Colorado State students tailgating before the the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring CU and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High August 31, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Colorado State students tailgating before the the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring CU and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High August 31, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 31: Colorado State students tailgating before the the Rocky Mountain Showdown featuring CU and the Colorado State Rams at Broncos Stadium at Mile High August 31, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Steven Montez tried not to stumble as he peeked behind his shoulder, after dashing out to his left and down the sideline toward the end zone.

It was an “awkward” 38-yard quarterback scamper to cap Colorado’s opening drive, in which the Buffaloes took just 84 seconds to zip 75 yards for the touchdown.

In that same time frame, Colorado State began its descent into its latest defensive nightmare.

The Buffaloes became the second consecutive team to blast their in-state rivals on offense so far in 2018, riding 596 total yards to a 45-13 Rocky Mountain Showdown victory Friday night at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.

“When you have good skill, you want to try to put them in space and let them do what they do,” CU first-year playcaller Darrin Chiaverini said. “ … That’s what you want to see from an offense — can we get big chunks (of yards) when we need to get them? We were able to do that.”

Colorado (1-0) was efficient and explosive while slicing through, around and over the Rams’ defense.

Montez, now a Pac-12 veteran, completed 22 of his 25 throws for 338 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in three quarters of action. He primarily distributed the ball to Laviska Shenault (11 catches, 211 yards, one touchdown) and K.D. Nixon (six catches, 112 yards, one touchdown), two sophomores who flashed dazzling playmaking skills for a receiving corps that lost its top three pass-catchers from last season. CU’s rushing attack added 6.5 yards per carry, thanks to a bevy of sizable gaps in the Rams’ defense.

“Our guys have been hungry,” Montez said. “They’ve been kind of antsy to get out there on the field … things just kind of clicked today, and hopefully things click a lot for us this season.”

And the Buffaloes dealt their deadliest blows at the top of each half.

Three times in the first quarter, CU needed less than three minutes to drive 75 yards or more. Montez complemented his rushing touchdown by completing his first 12 passes, including a beautiful 46-yard score down the left sideline to Nixon and a 4-yard dump-off to Beau Bisharat for another touchdown.

Then within the third quarter’s first three minutes, the contest was out of reach. On third-and-14 from the Buffaloes’ 11-yard line, Montez dumped an over-the-middle pass to a wide-open Shenault, who then slipped a tackler and dashed 89 yards for the score while the quarterback marveled at Shenault’s freakish speed. On the Buffaloes’ ensuing drive, Travon McMillian broke away for a 49-yard score to extend CU’s lead to 42-10.

Before the third quarter expired, the Buffaloes boasted a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard receiver (Shenault) and a 100-yard rusher (McMillian) for the first time in school history.

Friday’s disastrous defensive effort from the Rams — who are already 0-2 before most college football teams have played a single game — came less than a week after they yielded 617 yards and 43 points in a home loss to Hawaii. Their nonconference schedule doesn’t get easier, hosting Arkansas next week followed by a road date against Florida.

The Buffaloes’ schedule also stiffens next week, with a trip to Lincoln to renew their rivalry with Nebraska.

Thus far, Colorado has learned it can exploit a terrible defense.

Colorado State, meanwhile, has learned it’s terrible on that side of the ball.

“The first thing we gotta do is we gotta fix ourselves,” coach Mike Bobo said. “ … That’s not gonna be easy, but it will get done.

“You go back to work. You want me to give some magical damn answer? You go back to work.”

Gina Mizell covers the Denver Nuggets for The Denver Post. She joined The Post in September 2017, after 3 1/2 years covering Oregon State football for The Oregonian in Portland. She was named the 2016 Oregon Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. She was the Oklahoma State football beat reporter for The Oklahoman from 2011-14 and a sports reporter/columnist for The Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise from 2010-11. She is a 2010 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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